Brooks Koepka didn’t think he would be able to play the PGA Championship. He admitted he would not even have tried if it hadn’t been a major, and the Ryder Cup were not potentially at stake.

But the Floridian defied the odds, the weather-compacted schedule and his own right ankle by gutting his way through strained ligaments to not only play, but finish and excel. Koepka shot 9-under, finishing tied for fourth at Baltusrol Golf Club Sunday. It was his best finish at the PGA Championship and matched his best in a major.

“[Thirty-six] holes was a bit rough on the ankle. It’s numb right now, to be honest with you. Starting the week on Tuesday, where we were thinking maybe not even playing. To finish [fourth], I’m pretty happy with it,” Koepka said. “We were probably 70-30 not playing, so to actually play 36 [Sunday] was pretty impressive.”

The 26-year-old rolled his ankle the week after the U.S. Open. He suffered torn ligaments, tried to play through the injury, but was forced to withdraw after 13 holes at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on June 30. Koepka had not played since missing the British Open, sliding from third in the Ryder Cup standings to ninth, and out of the auto-qualification spots.

And after making the call to play at Baltusrol, he was dealt another tough break when Saturday’s storms forced him to play 36 holes Sunday. Heavily taped and wearing an ankle brace, he birdied the final hole to climb from seventh to fourth overall.

Brooks KoepkaGetty Images

“It hurts right now. It’s numb, dude. I can’t even feel my foot. Everything, Achilles, the outside of it, it’s pretty numb,” said Koepka, adding his rehab is two weeks ahead of schedule.

“It’s sore, I would’ve liked to have played four days, 18 [holes]. That would’ve been nice. It wouldn’t be as sore, hard to get off my right side. The whole back nine I was just hanging back on it, couldn’t really push off it. Who knows [how I could’ve done]? It is what it is. Top five from almost withdrawing on Tuesday.”

On the 11th he sprayed his shot deep into the trees. When he tried to squeeze the ball between a gap in the trees, he pulled it far left, sending it bouncing deeper into the woods. After he dug the ball out, he made an 11-foot putt to salvage a bogey, and his tourney.

Now, he’s unsure whether he’ll play the Travelers this week in Connecticut. But he was fiercely certain that he won’t have to rely on captain Davis Love III picking him for the Ryder team.

“I won’t need a pick,” Koepka vowed. “I know we’re going to have a sit-down, talk a little about the ankle, how things are going. Hopefully I can play good this week and next week and make it real official.”